Jason Stringer

A goal without a deadline is just a dream.

When a project goes limbo

It’s been over a year since I wrapped principal photography on the short film That Year They Were Bridesmaids with a small, talented crew in Perth’s Southern suburbs. Since filming finished, the project has bounced around in limbo waiting for completion–and I can trace it all back to one crucial decision we made during day two of production.

It was a gloomy day and the wind had picked up considerably by late afternoon. Production had run over schedule and the sun was due to set in a couple of hours. The 1st assistant director, producer, cinematographer and I gathered away from the crew to quickly discuss if we should “push on”. Should we complete all the shots scheduled for today regardless of elements, or move them to a later date?

We were shooting digitally, but the shots we were discussing were due to be shot on 8mm film. Technically, they were less involved and could easily be shot with a small crew of just four or five people the following weekend.

The cinematographer didn’t like how little light was going to be left, and only black clouds were evident in the sky. The AD added there was still a good hour at the current location before we could move on to the 8mm shots being discussed…

“Scrap it,” I announced. “We’ll easily pick them up later, and we can concentrate on getting the rest of today’s shots perfect.” Everyone agreed, and that’s what we did.

It was an easy decision to make because we were in a great groove on that shoot. People were working well together and there was no reason to doubt picking up 6 shots on another day, outside of what we had scheduled, wouldn’t happen.

I should have known better.

That weekend came and went, and we agreed to move it down one more weekend. Then it rained. Then it rained again the following weekend. Key people started picking up work and, understandably, other commitments had to start taking priority. Weeks went by… and then some more.

Eventually the producer assembled a small team, the required props, talent, the 8mm cameras and stock (which was being kept fresh in the fridge the whole time) on a frisky October weekend. Unfortunately, the elements weren’t right. It was again wintery, gray, windy and cold. The cinematographer was worried it would be a waste of (expensive) stock because there wasn’t enough light. Art Department weren’t impressed with the conditions; they needed as little wind as possible. And I, as director, wanted those things just right if we were to proceed. We once again postponed the shooting of these pesky 8mm shots. We agreed to wait for Spring to settle in better, when the cold would be gone and the majority of days were perfect.

But the weekends kept rolling on. Getting everyone free on a date to lock-in was become agonising while the film sat quietly on a hard drive, waiting patiently to be cut and delivered.

We eventually rolled 8mm film through the gate in February 2010—right in the middle of Summer. The film has been developed and is now being cut into the movie as I had always intended. And it looks great!

This was a lesson I had already learned and that’s probably what stings most. I was blinded by the fact that the shots we would have to pick-up seemed simple enough. Just an 8mm camera and some props… but it’s never as easy as it seems.

Next time I’m directing on an indie set and it is suggested we ‘pick-up these shots on a later weekend’, I’ll refuse.

I’m notorious for projects dragging out far too long and it is something I want to obliterate from my future projects. Post production is now built into all schedules. Submission deadlines for festivals help meet these targets.

So where is this film? When will That Year They Were Bridesmaids be watchable? I’ll have to answer these questions in upcoming posts.

Laughter to keep me honest

A short video I put together using home movies I took during the month of April this year. I plan on doing one for each month. Planning and doing are two very different things.

I cut this video to at least try and remain creative, because I’m creatively exhausted lately (as you can probably tell by the lack of posts this year). A very strange time for me. Nothing is coming out. I’m keeping myself busy as a stay-at-home Dad, raising my boys and looking after my wife as needed. In my spare time I’ve been writing and working on the occasional project, mostly Reel Thinker, a new movie web venture I launched with fellow graduate Robin Hare. Apart from that, I haven’t even had an itch to scratch… but I know it’s back there. I can feel it brewing.

Here’s what I’ve been up to. How about you?

Days are being strung together back-to-back, I have no idea where the first quarter of this year went. Writing has been steady and my creative ideas continue to stew. It’s putting them into action that’s going to challenge in the months ahead.

Dawn of a new decade. Got plans?

Here we go– ramping up a whole new decade. Creatively, I usually like to make plans and have things mapped out so I can work towards them. A goal without a deadline is just a dream, after all. As it stands right now, creative projects only fill the first couple of months. The rest of the year is still up for grabs. I kind of like that. I’ve got a few offers on the table and some discussions to have with colleagues to see where the year will take us. If one idea goes to plan, hopefully I can announce some big news soon– but I can’t say much just yet.

Short film That Year They Were Bridesmaids suffered the usual Silly Season hold-up, where crew scatter for what feels like forever before returning to normal lives. Even then, other projects are lined up and people get incredibly busy. We still have some 8mm shots to pick up before the editing can be finished. I’m still hopeful for a February 2010 completion, but it might edge March.

Fellow FTI graduate Robin (who has been my First Assistant Director on two shorts now) has joined me in a web-based project Reel Thinker. We launched it December 1 2009 and will persist with it into the new year to see where it goes. We both love to discuss and crituique film, so a joint like this made sense. It’s a project outside of Quarter To Four, which makes for an interesting change.

Speaking of Quarter To Four, the new website launched showcasing some of the short films we’ve produced.  There’s also a facebook page – have you become a fan of ‘Quarter To Four’ yet? Look out for behind-the-scenes images and video clips of That Year They Were Bridesmaids soon!

Here’s a sneaky-peek at me discussing the frame with Danny Clark (Director of Photography) on location.

Coming soon to DVD

“Coming soon to DVD…” sounds like one of those promo ads you see on the telly. It’s time to get ready for another productive year ahead as 2009 trots to a close and 2010 gets started. To finish this year off I am finally completing the DVD transfers of my short films LIVING WITH BENJAMIN, HER PARTY and HAIR DYE.

They will all be on DVD by December 9.

2010 will see the completion of my new short film THAT YEAR THEY WERE BRIDESMAIDS and (hopefully) a bunch of festival screenings. HER PARTY is also looking forward to some festival exposure while LIVING WITH BENJAMIN enjoyed some great horror screenings last Winter.

With completed films playing on screens and the others finalised on DVD it’ll be time once again to look forward to new projects. And baby, I’ve got a doozie in store for 2010. I cannot wait to get started!!

her-party-cover

hair-dye-cover

Living With Benjamin